Sons of Midnight

Back again, this one is fairly shorter than my other chapters but I thought it best this be by itself to help the flow of the overall story. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Sit back, drink some soda and enjoy.

Sons of Midnight
Chapter 6: Teen Angst

It took the boys nearly an hour to clean up Desmond's mess and by then even Zavier was starving. Their meal was an unsuspecting passerby on the street that they dragged into the alleyway and drained dry within a matter of minutes. It lacked the sweetness Desmond had gotten used to but food was food.

Desmond watched silently as Zavier pushed the body into a tall dumpster and slammed the lid down.

"Angelo wouldn't want us putting another body in a dumpster," he finally said.

Zavier's temper flared at the mention of the Sangsue's name. The security Zavier had built for them in five years Angelo had managed to destroy within an hour.

"I don't hear you shouting out any ideas," Zavier sneered back. "Besides I don't give a fuck what he wants."
"You don't want my ideas," Desmond countered, "and you still agreed for him to fix us."

"Fix YOU," Zavier corrected. "I said yes so he can fix you."

Desmond frowned. "But what about you, Avie? You heard what Angelo said about—"

"For fuck's sake I heard it," his twin snapped. "I'm not as far gone as you anyway. He can fix you, we go home and it'll give me time to figure out what I'm going to do."

Desmond usually gave in to his brother's plans but this one sounded all wrong. Desmond didn't have to be psychic to know Zavier was just as confused and scared as he was and it was showing in his poorly developed plans. And still it had never occurred to Zavier that he should ask what Desmond felt or thought about the situation.

The orphanage had been tough as children and now being young teenagers on the streets of Sargot City was even worse. All that time Desmond followed with a flawless loyalty yet at that moment his faith in Zavier's judgment was beginning to falter. He picked his next words carefully.

"This concerns both of us," he started slowly. "Remember I was only a few weeks ahead of you with the hunger. You're going to get worse, Zavier. It's been getting harder and harder to stay full this past week and I don't want that for you."

"So you just haven't been greedy?"

Desmond pushed away his anger that Zavier though his suffering was just out of greed and not real hunger. "Why do you think I kept saying that Angelo was right?"

"I don't know what to do, Desie," Zavier suddenly blurted out. Admitting that was like accepting a failure and for the first time in over five years, wet tears rolled down his soft cheeks.

Desmond rushed over to his brother and hugged him tightly. Normally it was Zavier comforting him and Desmond couldn't help but find pleasure that the roles had been reversed.

"This is just a speed bump," Desmond offered softly, "we can make it through anything. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

Usually a hug and reassuring words snapped Zavier back into the role as leader but not tonight. He yanked away from his twin's embrace and rubbed furiously at his eyes. "Living on the streets and eating garbage? I'm doing a bang up job."

That was it. "There's more than that but you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself to notice!" Desmond snapped. "You say you don't know what to do? Join the club because I have no clue either. All I know is that as long as it's you and me we'll make it to the end." The longer Desmond spoke the higher his voice went until he was finally yelling. "We go to Angelo tomorrow, he fixes US and we take it from there. That's the plan because that's all we have to go on. If you weren't such a dick and bothered to ask my opinion this wouldn't even be an issue right now!"

Shaking with anger, Desmond turned away from Zavier and stormed off. Zavier followed him into the street and yanked him back by the arm. "Wait a second, you always let me take care of things and plan until it's second nature for me. Now the moment I want something that's not exactly what you want I'm being a dick?!"

The two boys were out in the open, yelling in public but they ignored all the looks and whispers.

"I trust you to do what's best for both of us," Desmond explained, "Not just what you want because you dislike the guy that's going to help us."

"What's best for you is all that ever mattered to me!" Zavier yelled back. "Damnit, Des, we're the same age yet I have to be the one in control because you can't be!"

Desmond's face hardened. "I give you what you want regardless of how I feel. I didn't know I was such a burden to you, Zavier."

"Never a burden," Zavier quickly said, "I just love you so fucking much I want you safe every minute of the day."
Desmond pulled at his hair. "Then don't talk to me like I'm a clueless baby. You stood up for both of us since we were six and nothing changed, I never took charge because you wanted it that way. And I love you enough to follow you blindly because I want you happy."

An uncomfortable silence fell between them and it was Zavier that moved away first. They had aired all their dirty secrets for anyone within earshot and he wanted to get out of the spotlight as quickly as possible. Zavier soon felt someone walking close beside him and a warm hand searching for his own. They kept walking away from the main part of the Old Quarter and to the more abandoned area where the same rickety house welcomed them home.

Desmond immediately went to the room where the chest was and began rummaging through the old pictures. He took out his favorite and ran his finger across the cheek of the mystery woman that he had come to accept was their mother. She looked up at him from the photo with wide almond shaped eyes that were such a light blue they seemed almost crystal clear. Her hair had the same shade and slightly frayed texture that the twins had and by her cheekbones and rosebud lips she looked like she belonged in another time period and another land. Was it those qualities that made her so irresistible to her Keeper that he would dare allow her to give birth? There were several pictures of a man but Desmond rarely looked at those. He flipped the picture over and read the back out loud.

"2005, Jael Vadoma."

Zavier went to the room but remained in the doorway. "How long do you plan on staring at that picture?"

"I'm done," Desmond said and got up from the dusty floor. "I'm going to bring it tomorrow; maybe Angelo will recognize her face."

Zavier scoffed but kept his nasty retort to himself. He didn't want another argument to start and if Desmond's useless hope made him happy Zavier would let him have it. "Let's get some sleep," he said instead, "we don't want to be late tomorrow night."

Once the two boys settled into the warmth of the blankets Desmond spoke. "Avie? If her last name is Vadoma why are our last names Montgomery?"

Zavier yawned and hoped if he answered the useless question his brother would leave him alone and sleep. "Maybe because they named us after the guy that knocked her up or she isn't even our mother."

"But—"

"Not now, Desmond," Zavier warned and turned so his back was facing his twin. "Sleep."

Desmond sighed and slowly drifted off to sleep with those crystal blue eyes still in his thoughts.


Stay tuned, the next chapter comes tomorrow!!
Later,
Peccavi